The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said no fewer than 700,000 unwanted pregnancies may be recorded in Nigeria this year.
The agency said the challenge of funding family planning in the country may lead to increasing unwanted pregnancies and abortions
Speaking during a panel discussion titled ‘Dialogue on financing and investment in family planning: meeting the growing demand of Nigerian women’, at an event to mark the 2023 World Population Day organised by the National Population Commission in Abuja, Technical Specialist, Maternal & Reproductive Health, UNFPA, Dr Adeela Khan, said that the funding gap for family planning was widening.
According to her, it had increased from $25 million in 2022 to $32 million in 2023, a situation that could lead to 700,000 unintended pregnancies, which would further lead to 300,000 unplanned births and 300,000 unsafe abortions.
According to her, the Nigerian government had been recognising the importance of investing in family planning and had been making some efforts through policies, such as the National Policy for Population and Sustainable Development in 2022, and financial commitment to ensuring family planning.
Also speaking at the event, UNFPA Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem, who was represented by UNFPA Nigeria Acting Resident Representative, Ms Erika Goldson, noted that 19 percent of married women in Nigeria and 40 per cent around the world could not exercise their right to make decisions, especially regarding having children.
She emphasised the need for women to be empowered, adding that such empowerment would benefit human capital and inclusive economic growth.
“Empowering women and girls, including through education and access to modern contraception, helps to support them in their aspirations — and to chart the path of their own life.
“Advancing gender equality is a crosscutting solution to many population concerns. In ageing societies that worry about labour productivity, achieving gender parity in the workforce is the most effective way to improve output and income growth,” Kanem added.
She further noted that in countries experiencing rapid population growth, women’s empowerment through education and family planning can bring enormous benefits by way of human capital and inclusive economic growth.
In his remarks, Public Health Practitioner, Dr Gafar Alawode, decried the country’s rising population which was growing faster than the economy.
“Nigeria is producing the size of Liberia, Togo, and maybe Sierra Leone combined every year. Why it is more dangerous is that our population grows faster than our economy. The implication is that the wealth is not expanding, but the people consuming the wealth are expanding. That means the share that comes to each individual is reduced. And Nigeria is already a poverty capital.”
